Automatically-controlled soot blower



Dec. 11 1923.

H. J. GEBHARDT AUTOMATICALLY CONTROLLED SOO'I BLOWER Filed June 29, 1918 Patented Dec. 11 1923.

run) STATES HENRY J. GEBHARDT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

AUTOMATICALLY-CONTRQLLED SO01 BLOWER.

Application'filed June 29, 1912. Serial Ito. 242,639.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY J. 'GJEIBHARDT, a citizen of the United States of America, and resident of Chicago, lllinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Automatically-Controlled Soot Blowers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to soot blowers of that kind in which movable means, such as a plurality of nozzles, are provided for directin ets of steam between the water tubes 0? a boiler to remove the spot and dust therefrom.

Generally stated, the object of the invention is to provide means or instrumentalities for automatically controlling the operation of a blower of this kind, or of any suitable character, so that the blowing operation will be repeated automatically at predetermined intervals of time, or at such intervals as will ensure, or tend to ensure, the keeping of the tubes tree from soot and dust.

lt is also an object to provide certain details and features of construction and combinations tending to increase the general eficiency and desirability of an automatically controlled soot blower mechanism of this particular character.

To this and other useful ends, the invention consists in matters hereinafter set forth and claimed, and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. l is a plan of an automatic soot blower apparatus embodying the principles of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of said apparatus.

Figure 3 is a sectional view of the common term of trap which may be used to automatically control the apparatus.

As thus illustrated, the invention comprises a horizontallydisposed pipe or header 1 which extends over the water tubes of the boiler and which has a plurality of nozzles (not shown) to blow steam between the tubes, in the well known manner, to remove the soot and dust. Blowers of this kind are common and well known. I

The header 1 is connected b a swivel joint 2 to the steam pipe 3, w ich latter contains the gate valve 4 to control the steam. A cylinder 5 contains a piston 6, and the rod 7 of; said piston has a rack 8 to engage the segment 9 that is rigid with the header 1 of the blower, so that reciprocation of this rod by the piston will oscillate the header. A spring 10 in the barrel 11 serves to return the piston to the right, after it is driven by fluld pressure to the left, said cylinder 5 and barrel 11 being mounted on the'base 12 of the machine or apparatus. Said cylinder 5 has an exhaust outlet 13 at one end and a drain it at the other end, both connected to the pipe 15, and the drain 14: has a valve 16 to control the outlet thus afforded at one end of the cylinder. A llcoupling 17 connects the pipe 3 with the pipe 18 which leads from the boiler, and connects these pipes with the smaller pipe 19 that leads to the steam trap 20, which latter is of any suitable or well known character. A pipe 21 with a valve 22 connects said trap with the inlet end of the cylinder 5., so that the water of condensation will be discharged into said cylinder each time the valve 23 of said trap is opened by the float 2a in the well known manner. Thls drives the piston 6 to the left until the water and steam are discharged through the exhaust 13, thereby turnlng the blower, and the spring 10 then returns the piston and blower to normal position. The gate valve thas a vertically movable connection 25 adapted at its lower end to engage the cam groove 26 in the side of the rack 8, this cam groove being of a shape to raise the connection 25 and open the valve 4 whenthe piston starts forward after the discharge of the contents of the trap into the cylinder. In this way, the operation of the piston serves not only to operate the mechanism by which the blower is oscillated or operated, but serves also to admit steam to the blower. Thus the blower is operated each time the trap is discharged.

As a matter of further and special improvement, the condensation in the trap 20 is regulated to cause the blowing operation to occur at intervals more or less frequent, as every hour, or every two hours, asmay be desired. This is done, as shown, by means of a condensing coil 27 applied tothe pipe 19, and rovided with valves 28 and 29 to control t e passage of the steam and .water through the coil. By adjustin these valves, the condensation can be acce erated or delayed, and the operation of the blower may be caused to occur at, predetermined intervals.

The action of the s ring 10 can be regulated b adjustment 0 the screw member 30 in. the arrel 11, so that the back and forth movement of the piston 6 will be of the required character.

By adjusting the valve 16 the drainage from the pressure side of the piston can be regulated so that water will escape, but whereby at the same time the pressure necessary to close the piston will not be materially reduced.

From the foregoing it will be seen that means are provided to automatically control the blower to cause the operation thereof at predetermined intervals, so that the operation will be automatic. This will relieve the engineer or fireman of the necessity of oper ating the blower, and will ensure operation thereof frequently enou h to ensure proper cleaning of the boiler tu bes.

By adjustment of the valves 28 and 29, as previously stated, the condensation of the steam and the accumulation of the water in the steam trap 20 can be accelerated or delayed, so that the operation of the blower will occur more or less frequently, depending upon conditions and the requirements of the boiler. Also, the valve 16 can be adjusted to vary the leakage from the pressure into the cylinder, and in this way t e successive operations 'of the blower may be regulated, so that each individual operation may be rendered either faster or slower, and by adjustment of the screw-threaded member 30, as previously explained, the action of the spring 10 can be regulated so that the return movement of the piston will be either faster or slower. For example, if the screwthreaded member 30 is screwed farther into the barrel 11, the spring 10 will be compressed, and its action in returning the piston will be quicker than would be the case if the member 30 were adjusted in the opposite direction. It is the power furnished by the ring 10, of course, which serves to automatically close the gate valve 4 when the piston is returned to normal position. The check valve 31 serves, it will be seen, to revent steam pressure from passing upwardly into the exhaust end of the cylinder, this check valve opening in a downward direction to allow the escape of the exhaust from the cylinder, but being normally closed and not v adapted to open upwardly, so that no steam or other pressure can enter the cylinder through the exhaust outlet.

Thus water of condensation is employed to automatically control the apparatus which controls the mechanism for o crating the blower, and a steam supply va ve (for said blower) is controlled automatically by said ap aratus he trap 20, of course, can be of any suitable character. As shown in Figure 3 it comprises, as previously explained, the casing 20, the valve 23 and the cup shaped float 24, which latter is pivoted at 32, so that when this cup moves up and down it closes and opens said valve. Suppose the water of corn densation accumulates in the casing 20 until it flows over the upper edge of the cup 24, so that the latter becomes filled, or partially filled. Under such circumstances the cup or float will move downward, about its pivot 32, and the rod 33 which is pivoted at its lower end on the bottom of the cup 24 will pull the valve 23 downward. The steam pressure will then force the water upward in the tube 34, out of the trap, and through the opening 35 controlled by the valve, it being observed that the pressure enters the trap at 36 and that the water and steam will then leave the trap at 37, these two threadedbossesbeing adapted to receive the inlet pipe and the outlet pipe respectively. After the steam has forced the water out of the cup 24, it will then rise, because of its buoyancy, as there will still be water enough in the casing 20 to float the cup, and cause it to move upward, thus closing said valve. But traps of this kind are very common and the invcntion is not limited to any particular form of trap. The construction shown forms no part of the invention, but is merely illustrative of a common or ordinary form of trap for this purpose.

\Vhat I claim as my invention is:-

1. The combination of operating mechanism for a soot blower, a fluid pressure actuated means forming a power device to operate said mechanism, thereby to control said blower, and automatic controlling means and instrumentalities automatically controlled thereby for supplying fluid pressure to periodically cause the operation of said power device, so that said blower is intermittent in operation and entirely automatic in the action thereof.

2. The combination specified in claim 1, said power device comprising a cylinder and piston, means to connect the piston with the blower, said means and instrumentalitics comprising a condensation trap connected to overflow into said cylinder.

3. The combination specified in claim 1, said blower having a valve for the admission of steam, and means whereby said valve is automatically opened when said mechanism is operated.

4. The combination of a power device, and instrumentalities including a condensation trap and steam operated means controlled thereby to automatically and periodically cause the operation of said power device, together with a soot blower automatically controlled by said operation.

5. The combination specified in claim 4, said power device comprising a cylinder and piston, and means to discharge the overflow from said trap to said cylinder.

6. The structure specified in claim 1, in combination with means whereby to render the intermittent operation of said power device either more or less frequent.

7. The combination specified in claim 4, and a condensing coil having avalve to render the intermittent discharge of said trap either more or less frequent.

8. The structure specified in claim 1, in combination with means" to automatically supply steam to the blower by the operation of said power device.

9. The combination of claim 4, and a steam valve automatically controlled by said power device. a

'10.- The combinationspccified in claim 1,

. to periodically supply fluid pressure to actuate the piston in one direction thereby to operate said mechanism in onedirection, a spring to actuate the piston in the other direction thereby to reverse the operation of said mechanism, a barrel for said spring, and adjustable means to regulate, the tension of said spring.

13. The combination specified in claim 12,

l and means to automatically supply steam to said blower, so that the entire action of the blower is automatic.

' 14'. The combination of a valve for controlling the supply of steam to a soot blower for cleaning a boiler, a device operatively connected for opening and closing said valve, and means including a steam trap operatively connected for automatically controlling said device to periodically supply steam to the blower for blowing the soot and dust from the portions of the boiler'to be cleaned.

'15. A structure as specified in claim 14, in combination with mechanism for operating the blower back and forth while blowing the steam, and means whereby said mechanism is also automatically controlled by said steam trap to periodlcally operate the blower.

. 16. A structure as specified in claim 14, in combination with means to vary the action of. the steam tra to render more or less frequent the operation of said blower.

l 17. The combination of mechanism for operating a soot blower, and apparatus having means whereby it is controlled by water of condensation toin turn automatically control said mechanism to automatically operate the blower.

' 18. A structure and combination as specified in claim 17, having a steam supply valve for controlling the supply of steam to the blower, and having means whereby said valve is; automatically controlled by said ap aratus.

igned by me at Chicago, Illinois this 27th day of June, 1918.

- HENRY J. GrEBHAJRDT.v 

